None
Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.
Not applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of law enforcement and, more particularly, to an improvement in the uniform epaulet-coupled emergency flashlight of my U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,217, issued Jan. 18, 2000.
2. Description of the Related Art
As my prior patent indicated, law enforcement, military police, corrections officers, border patrol, etc. usually carry flashlights of a type which can be grabbed by persons being questioned, and used as a weapon against an interrogating officer. My above patent described a flashlight which allowed the officer""s hands to be free for use, and to enable the officer to react quickly to any attempt to injure or seriously place him/her in harm""s way. Such flashlight then placed the officer at an advantage, rather than at a disadvantage.
As therein described, the flashlight was worn as part of a uniform, securable to a shoulder epaulet. A front end was rotatable upwardly and downwardly to generate and spread a light beam in usexe2x80x94or to be hooded closed, concealing the nature of the housing as an illuminating source when not being so employed. A flashing light was additionally included to illuminate through a back end as a rearwardly projecting beam in serving as a warning to oncoming motorists approaching from behind.
The present invention will be appreciated to extend the concept of this flashlight still further, in enhancing the quantity and quality of the light both forwardly and rearwardly, yet without increasing the size of the flashlight to any meaningful extent. At the same time, the flashlight of this invention will be seen to provide its operation in a variety of outdoor conditionsxe2x80x94and especially in harsh environments where inclement weather conditions exhibited a tendency to rust or otherwise wear individual ones of the component parts of my earlier design. Realizing at the same time that uniforms worn by various law enforcement personnel both in the civilian and military fields oftentimes may differ, the flashlight of the present invention will be seen to be one in which a snug fit is insured on virtually every uniform design in use today.
Thus, and as will be seen from the description below, the enhanced uniform epaulet-coupled flashlight of the present invention incorporates a mirrorized reflector coupled with the front and rear lenses to increase and intensify visibility. At the same time, the single candle bulb utilized in generating the forward extending light beam of my prior construction is replaced by a plurality of ultra-bright light-emitting diodes (LEDs), while the halogen bulb utilized in generating the rearward extending beam is similarly replaced by a plurality of such LEDsxe2x80x94preferably of differing color combination to provide an increased observer awareness. Rechargeable nickel-metal hydride batteries are employed instead of double-A or triple-A alkaline batteriesxe2x80x94preferable even to rechargeable ni-cad batteries. Additionally, and as will be seen, the rotating front lens which acted as an on-off switch for the flashlight itself is modified to be a 90xc2x0 rotating head, instead of the 180xc2x0 rotating head as in my earlier designxe2x80x94both for purposes of reliability in operation and so as to present less of a metal rotating clip in operation, which analysis has shown might rust or otherwise be adversely affected when used during rain, sleet, snow or similar inclement weather conditions.
Able to alert oncoming motorists of an officer""s presence with a preferred stroboscopic light configuration in its rear, the flashlight of the present invention will be appreciated to be one offering upwards of 100,000 continuous hours of life without the need for a bulb replacement. When packaged along with an epaulet extender, the flashlight could then be secured with a wide variety of uniform designs.